AHRIMAN: The Spirit of Destruction

By Puja Guha

4 Stars

It is debatable whether being able to compare the way a book is written to a TV series is a good thing, but in this case, I think it’s a great thing.

Ahriman: The Spirit of Destruction is the literary equivalent of the TV series 24. Fast paced, completely terrifying in places and constantly has you teetering on the edge of your seat wondering what will happen next.

Set in the not too distant future, the lack of difference between life now and then is really well written and actually builds on the fears that many have when it comes to being the victim of a terrorist attack.

The use of a strong female lead in this action political thriller is really refreshing change from the mountains of books in the genre that have women side-lined to the role of romantic interest, damsel in distress or double agent. This is especially prevalent when you think that the strong female lead is being sent into Kuwait, where even in 2021 women still have little to no rights.

The plot is very well thought out and executed in a way that means you are strapped in for the duration of the book, you do have to put it down at some moments just to catch a few mouthfuls of oxygen before getting back to it and there may be moments when you really feel like you want to stop, that you don’t want to know what happens next, but you will find yourself drawn back to the story.

The characters are well developed and easy to engage with and the realism displayed in the writing brings it to life in a vivid way.

The only downside to this book is that it is almost too full on at times and could have done with a little bit of slowing down in places, but on the whole a great book and definitely one that can be read again and again.